Finally after a week and a half in Aichi, it was time to go home. My flight to Narita was in the afternoon, so I had bit of time in the morning to finish off the items on my list. I did pretty well the previous days, since the only remaining tourist spot I had left was Nagoya Castle.

I checked out early in the morning and took the subway by myself to Nagoya Castle. This was really the first time I traveled by myself, since I had been traveling so much with Eri-san. However, it wasn’t hard to navigate my way through the subway.

I got to Nagoya Castle a little early, so I had to wait around for the opening at 9:00am. After paying my admission, I made it inside the grounds. It was great going early in the morning since there was hardly anyone there. I toured the outer grounds of the castle before making my way inside. The castle itself wasn’t terribly big, so I got through the floors pretty quickly and made my way to the observation deck at the top.

As I was coming down there was a group of really nice obaasans taking photos by the life size Kinshachi on display. They asked if I could help take a photo for them. After having so much practice with the photo-taking sessions the past week, I was a pro. “Hai~ ichi, ni, san, ikimasu!” One of them was nice enough to take a photo for me. It turned out pretty well. =)

I snapped a few shots coming out, but that pretty much wrapped up my time in Nagoya. As I headed back to the subway, I caught one last glance at the Nagoya City Hall in the distance. Then it was back to the hotel to grab my luggage.

Eri-san came to get me a while later. I’m so grateful to her for taking me to the airport. I wouldn’t have been able to manage my luggage without her help. The ride to the airport was quick and I got there with plenty of time to spare. I was actually there too early because there wasn’t even a counter setup for Air Canada! However I got my luggage sent and bid farewell to Eri-san. I cannot express how grateful I am to you.

本当にありがとうございます！

I still had some time prior to boarding to walk around Centrair. I went up to the viewing deck to check out the flights. It’s amazing they have an open air observation deck. Later I went and walked around the 4th Floor Sky Town. I grabbed a bite to eat at one of the restaurants serving unadon. Another yummy specialty from Nagoya.

+++

Time to conclude my thoughts on this trip to Aichi – It was an unbelievable experience doing a homestay. I never would have thought I would receive such a warm reception from everyone I met. Thank you for making this trip so memorable!